Sometime in early 2013, Secret Identity will post its 500th episode. Granted, we’ve posted well over 500 individual episodes by now, as we used to do .5 episodes every week for almost 200 episodes. But this is our official 500th episode, and that’s kind of special.

Matt and I have been recording and producing the Secret Identity Podcast since March of 2006. In the almost seven years of putting out this show, we’ve produced over 1500 hours of programming. We’ve posted interviews with over 300 creators, developers and entertainers (341 at last count), including comic favorites from Dick Ayers to Todd McFarlane to to the late Michael Turner. We’ve covered major events in the comics we love, from Marvel’s Civil War to DC’s New 52. We’ve followed the launch of big games, from Batman Arkham Asylum to Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition. And we’ve traveled up and down the East Coast and beyond, attending shows like New York Comic Con, DDXP, Big Apple Shows, Pittsburgh Comic Con and dozens more over the years.

Most importantly though, we’ve made a lot friends, and we count every single one of you who listen to the show and visit this site among them. We appreciate you taking time to visit with us each week, and celebrate the hobbies we love.

So, as Secret identity turns 500 this upcoming year, we’ll be looking back at some of the last six plus years, and revisiting some of the events, interviews and conversations we’ve had during that time.

Stay tuned for more on this, as we’d like your input on how we celebrate Secret Identity this upcoming year.

Like the Beatles, KISS had four distinct personalities within the original band. In KISS, drummer Peter Criss was the most down to earth member of o In any interviews I ever saw, drummer Peter Criss (the Catman) always seemed to be the most humble and honest with his feelings. Sadly, his life and music career were deeply affected by drug and alcohol excess. For years I wondered when Mr. Criss would put his life story to paper and reveal what exactly happened to him. ‘Makeup To Breakup: My Life In And Out Of Kiss’ is Peter’s story; a kid who fought to survive on the streets of New York, clawed his way to the top of the music world, lost it, replaced some and then turned his back on everything. This book is honest to a fault and gives you a new perspective on the KISS story that seems to be constantly rewritten with Peter’s contributions diminished each time.

For Peter, the rise of KISS seemed to bring more problems than anything else. With each rung of success he felt outvoted and constantly fighting to show his creativity. This ended with him sabotaging his final years in KISS as well as self-destructive behavior and drug and alcohol abuse. After reading the book I felt I had a better understanding of Peter, the inner workings of the KISS machine and the 1970’s hedonistic lifestyles. Peter (with contributor Larry Sloman) goes into serious detail about all things KISS, marriage, groupies and bad decisions. The language can be crude and descriptions leaving little to the imagination, but he is honest about his feelings. Where Gene Simmons’ book was boastful, Ace Frehley’s was just sad, Peter’s examines the soul. He tells it like it is when it comes to Gene and Paul Stanley’s domination of the band, Ace’s betrayal and the stupid things he did that ruined two marriages. The part of the book I was most interested in was his solo music career after he left KISS. Peter tells of the frustration of having his first two solo records bomb and subsequent projects meet with no luck as well. You could see that the success and adulation Criss had from the single ‘Beth’ had more of a negative effect on him than a positive. More than the respect as an artist, the song became the validation of his arguments with Paul and Gene and ultimately started his downward spiral. Congratulations to the Catman for an amazing book. And more importantly on surviving to tell the tale!Matman Rating: 4 out of 5 cat lives!

Managed by longtime SI community member Wayne, the Bears squeaked into the fourth and final playoff spot with an 8-6 regular season record. In their semifinal matchup against the heavily favored 10-4 Springfield Bolts, the Bears came out swinging and delivered a beatdown, prevailing 261-180, and sending the #1 ranked Bolts home early.

While the Bolts proved to be no match for the Bears, the kentucky Moonshiners offered a much tougher challenge in the league championship. However, the Bears still prevailed in a hard fought 208-195 victory. Here are some of the highlights:

Bounty Hunting Bears Smooth Moves

The 60 points scored by Drew Brees ranked third in the league in scoring this week and fifth for any player on Bounty Hunting Bears this season.

Jamaal Charles ranked seventh in the league in scoring with 51 points, his highest output of the season.

Benched RB BenJarvus Green-Ellis, who scored fewer points than any RB in the starting lineup with 1.

Blair Walsh, who was picked up by Bounty Hunting Bears, scored 14 points against a projected 6.90, topping his projection by 102.9%.

Picked up Julius Peppers, who beat his scoring projection by 184.2%, with 11 points against a projected 3.87.

Here are a few quick thoughts about some books you should be reading!!!

Ame-Com Girls # 3 (DC) - If you are not reading this series than you are missing out on a real gem. Writers Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray are joined by Ted Naifeh who do an amazing job creating a 'girls rule' DCU!

Birds Of Prey # 15 (DC) - An incredible ending to a great arc by writer Duane Swierczynski and stunning visuals by penciler Juan Jose Ryp and inker Vincente Cifuentes.This book seems to get better and better with each issue.

Deadpool # 3(Marvel) - I don't usually like Deadpool, but writers Brian Posehn and Gerry Duggan spin funny and incredibly entertaining read. With artist Terry Moore is drawing the heck out of it, this is another Marvel Now! title that has reinvented itself onto my pull list.

FF # 2 (Marvel) - If you are looking for a fun, easy read that is just amazing, 'FF' is your book! Even if you don't like the Fantastic Four or have no history to the team, you will enjoy this one!! But what would you expect from Matt Fraction, Mike Allread and his lovely wife Laura?Green Lantern # 15 (DC)- This book is amazing! Writer Geoff Johns took a chance creating a Muslim Green Lantern and it paid off with an exciting and original story! And as always, Doug Manke and Christian Alamy provide some serious visuals.

New Crusaders # 4 (Archie / Red Circle Comics) - Wow! One of my favorite monthly reads! Written by Ian Flynn with art by Alitha Martinez and Gary Martin tell the tale of 'second generation' heroes trying to find their way in life as they look to avenge their parents death.

It’s hard to talk about the last issue of Amazing-Spider Man without getting into some spoilers, so I put the tag above in case any of you want to jump off now. That said, I will try and stay away from a ton of specifics, because you really should read this one for yourself. But major plot points will be discussed. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

Amazing Spider-Man #700 is a $7.99, 104-page beast of a comic that features the conclusion of a storyline 100 issues in the making. Well, actually the main story is 40 pages, and the rest of the book is a combination of short stories, letters pages and a cover gallery. The extra material is hit and miss, but I’ll get back to that. First, let’s discuss the main story, which is written by Dan Slott with fantastic art by Humberto Ramos (pencils), Victor Olazaba (inks) and Edgar Delgado (colors).

Anyone remotely interested in comics has by now heard about the big “mindswap” that Doc Ock pulled on Peter Parker in issue #698. It was a brilliant bit of storytelling that offered one of the only “holy cow” moments I’ve had in comics in quite some time. Octavius’ masterstroke was a storyline that had been building since his return in Amazing Spider-Man #600, and it paid off beautifully. ASM #698 is one of my two favorite issues of the year (along with Daredevil #19), and when you read the twist, you immediately have to read the whole issue over again, which is a testament to how the story plays out.

For me though, the big question heading into issue #700 was whether or not the twist that Slott introduced in #698 would actually stick, or whether there would be a magical return to the status quo. I had faith that Slott would not disappoint, and that faith was well placed. Not only does the twist stick, but Slott takes the storyline to a powerful, emotional conclusion that I’ve been thinking about for days after reading it. I think what I love about it the most is how everything comes back to Peter’s mantra of power and responsibility. We as readers have gotten to see that mantra play out time and time again, through the experiences of both Peter Parker and Spider-Man. But to this point, no one in Peter Parker or Spider Man’s world has gotten to see all of the times he has lived that mantra--all of the experiences where that mantra has shaped the decisions he’s made.

Not Uncle Ben. Not Aunt May. Not Mary Jane.

Otto Octavious.

The landscape of Spider-Man has changed monumentally with this one issue, and it’s clear that Superior Spider-Man will be a very different book than Amazing was.

It’s rare that a creator gets to stay on a book long enough to create a storyline this big, and be there to bring it to its conclusion as well. I truly feel like Slott’s run on ASM will be looked at as legendary in the years to come, and not because of the more controversial issues of that run, but because he captured everything we’ve come to love about Spidey and Peter Parker over the years, right up until the very end.

5 out of 5 Legacies of Responsibility

Now, about that supplemental material--it’s a mixed bag, to say the least.

Following Slott’s fantastic conclusion to the Dock Ock story, we get a couple of shorter ones that both feel somewhat out of place. "Spider-Dreams" by J.M. DeMatteis and Guiseppe Camuncoli is up first, and features an alternate future story, while “Date Night” by Jen Van Meter and Stephanie Buscema is more of a Black Cat story with a Spidey cameo. Both are good stories, but they felt somewhat out of place to me, especially for the "final issue" of ASM.

The two pieces of supplemental material that I do think belong in the book are the extended letters page and the cover gallery. The letters page features creators from Stan Lee to Erik Larsen, talking about what Spidey means to them. And the cover galley is fantastic, as it allows readers to re-live some of the great (and not so great) moments in Spidey’s past through the covers of all 700 issues. Both are worthy additions to the 700th issue.

I think the issue overall would have been better served by taking the epilogue story that will be Avenging Spider-Man #15.1 and including it in issue #700 instead of the short stories. They feel like filler, and an excuse to make the book more expensive, knowing how many people would be picking it up.

3 out of 5 Some Killer, Some Fillers

Final Verdict

Despite my gripes about some of the extra content, Dan Slott’s status quo-shattering storyline is one for the ages. I can’t wait to see what Superior Spider-Man has to offer.

As much as opening gifts and hanging out with the in-laws, our big Christmas tradition (at least for three of us) is the Doctor Who Christmas Special. Always a great time of fun, adventure and a few tears... except this year's.

This year we go back to Victorian England to find a young boy who has made a friend... a snowman. As an adult this man (played by the great Richard Grant) has now controlled the snow to do his bidding. That is the basic plot... no spoilers.

What is interesting about this episode is the state we find the Doctor in; ready to give in to his misery of losing Amy and Rory and no longer wanting help anyone. But along comes new companion Clara played by the lovely and quite charming Jenna-Luise Coleman who will look to change his solitary life.

So what can I say about Matt Smith except that he IS the Doctor. Every new episode cements his place as the best Doctor so far.

For the past bunch of years, the Doctor Who Christmas Special was a one off episode that may have had lose threads leading into and/or continuing into the next. This episode felt like more of a lead into the upcoming season that begins in April.

By no means a bad episode, but not what I was looking for or expecting. There was a lot of humor especially when Sontarian companion Strax (played by Dan Starkey) was involved. Hope this character hangs out a bit more.

I have to admit, sitting down to watch The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, there was a small part of me that was worried it wouldn’t live up to my expectations. For starters, it had been almost ten years since we last saw Peter Jackson and company’s vision of Tolkien's Middle-Earth on the big screen. On top of that, this was the beginning of a prequel trilogy, taking a much smaller work (and some supplemental material) and stretching it out over three movies.

Turns out I had nothing to worry about. An Unexpected Journey is every bit the return trip to Middle-Earth I was hoping for. As soon as I saw the Shire again, it was like putting on an old pair of slippers, or wrapping your favorite blanket around you while you read a great book. I never realized how much I missed seeing that world until it was up on the screen in front of me again.

But this trip to Middle-Earth was different, of course, and that’s a great thing. While the Lord of the Rings trilogy was very dark, punctuated by spots of brightness, The Hobbit is the opposite. And the first chapter, An Unexpected Journey, is a colorful, almost giddy celebration of the wonderful world of Middle-Earth. It’s almost as if Jackson and everyone else who worked on the film are saying “I know! We’re so excited to be back here too!”

Not that there isn’t plenty of action mind you, and some scary moments as well.

[MINOR SPOILERS]

The movie begins with an older Bilbo Baggins (played once again by Ian Holm), penning a memoir of his greatest adventure from his younger days. We also get to see Frodo (Elijah Wood), and are reminded of how innocent he was prior to the events of The Lord of the Rings. In fact, the framing sequence at the beginning of the film takes place just prior to the big party that began The Fellowship of the Ring.

Which brings me to one of the aspects of An Unexpected Journey that I loved the most--how it foreshadows The Lord of the Rings. From the framing sequence at the beginning, to the subplot of a great evil returning to the land, Jackson and company did an excellent job of making this a prequel movie that stands on its own, but certainly sets the table for what is to come. And that’s no easy task, because at face value, the stakes in The Hobbit are much lower than in The Lord of the Rings. While all of Middle-Earth is at stake in The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit is about Bilbo Baggins trying to help a group of determined Dwarves take their home back from a dragon.

It would be easy for this film to feel small compared to The Lord of the Rings, and the fact that it doesn’t basically boils down to three things in my opinion:

The World As I mentioned earlier, Middle-Earth is an amazing, fantastical place. This time around, we get to see it in all its colorful, beautiful glory. The Shire, Rivendell--all of it brought to the screen a world so immersive, I just want to stay there and visit with the characters forever.

The ToneThe combination of a sense of adventure, whimsy and humor make this visit to Middle-Earth fun. Sure, there are scary things, and sure, there is danger, but much of this movie is about a solitary Hobbit who goes on an exciting quest and sees the world for the first time.

The Cast

I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that Martin Freeman should be nominated for an Oscar for his portrayal of Bilbo Baggins. Having seen him own this role, I can’t imagine anyone doing a better job with it. He carries the first half of the movie, when things are a bit slow, and we see how Bilbo is sucked into the big adventure by Gandalf and the Dwarves.

And the Dwarves? Everything I’d hoped for. Of all the fantasy races, Dwarves have always been my favorite, and these Dwarves are a combination of what you saw with Gimli in The Lord of the Rings, and what we grew up seeing in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. As an ensemble, they run the spectrum of stalwart warriors to bumbling buffoons. But they all have heart, and as a group they’re great. My personal favorite was James Nesbitt’s Bofur. In this movie he is the one who connects the most with Bilbo, and their relationship is a joy to watch.

Of course, Ian McKellan is wonderful as Gandalf, and Hugo Weaving and Cate Blanchett make great returns as well. And Andy Serkis? Add him to the Oscar nomination list.

I don’t want to get into spoiler territory, so I will leave specific plot details out. Needless to say, I was very happy with the story, and I’m glad it will be a trilogy. That just means more time for us as viewers to spend in this wonderful world.

As a parent, I am still contemplating whether or not to take the kids to see this one. There are some scary parts, and more than a little violence, but nowhere near the level of a movie like The Avengers. And so much of the rest of the movie has an all-ages appeal to it, I’m inclined to say that if your kids have seen any superhero movies lately, they will probably be fine seeing this.

In any case, I can’t recommend The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey enough. I will be seeing many more times.

One of the big holiday traditions among all Herring's is the watching of 'A Charlie Brown Christmas'! Since an early age I have loved this amazing and loving look at a group of kids finding out the true meaning of Christmas.

First aired in 1965, this special was the first of the Peanuts specials and certainly set the bar pretty high for the franchise. The show has won an Emmy as well as a Peabody Award.

But the show almost never got aired!

One of the big reasons is for me my favorite part of the episode. Apparently ABC executives didn't like Linus' reading from the Gospel Of Luke. They felt viewers didn't want to have religion in their Christmas special. But creator Charles Schultz and director Bill Melendez fought to keep it in. Schultz said of this "If we don't tell the true meaning of Christmas, who will?"

Thank you Mr. Schultz..."And there were in the same country shepherds, abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them! And they were sore afraid ... And the angel said unto them, "Fear not! For, behold, I bring you tidings o great joy, which shall be to all my people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ, the Lord." "And this shall be a sign unto you: Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger." And suddenly, there was with the angel a multitude of the Heavenly Host praising God, and saying, "Glory to God in the Highest, and on Earth peace, and good will toward men." "That's what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown." - Linus Van Pelt

The big non-news (since it hasn't been confirmed) is that the Star Wars comic license that has belonged to Dark Horse since 1991 will not be renewed and move back to Marvel.

As a lifelong Star Wars fan I have mixed emotions about this one. My introduction to Star Wars came from the comics, number 4 specifically (see picture). I read the comics religiously all the way to the last Marvel issue and by that time, the quality had really fallen off and became a serious obligation buy. But in 1991, after an 8 year print absence, Star Wars returned to comics in a grand way with Dark Horse and the incredible series 'Dark Empire'. Since that book Dark Horse has put out some amazing books and (in my opinion) revitalized the almost forgotten Star Wars franchise.

As Dark Horse is set to launch the new 'Star Wars' title, it becomes bittersweet. I've really been looking for a return to the classic trilogy in that time period between 'A New Hope' and 'The Empire Strikes Back' and thanks to Brian Wood, Carlos D’Anda and Alex Ross...we were going to get it.

My fear? I'm afraid Marvel won't put the care and quality into their line like Dark Horse has done. I know Marvel knows quality but at DH, 'Star Wars' is their biggest title and over the years, they have made all the titles worth reading.

Will Marvel bring in John Ostrander and Jan Duursema? Hope so!

Will Marvel make a comic based on the 'Battle Of Hoth'? I can only pray!!!

Will they bring back Jaxxon the green bounty hunting rabbit? If they do...I'm back in!